Tuesday Tidbits

Yesterday, I hoped that ten readers of the blog would contribute to Tom Allen's campaign to oust Susan Collins via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page. Unfortunately, zero readers were able to contribute yesterday, making for a sad Guru. C'mon, even after all the holiday shopping you have ten bucks left over to help Tom Allen beat the dishonest, hypocritical Susan Collins, right? Please chip in if you can!

RealClearPolitics has their latest list of the ten most competitive Senate races. They've removed South Dakota from their top ten, leaving Louisiana as the sole Democratic-held seat. The other nine are all GOP-held, including Mississippi making its first appearance, in the ten-spot.

Mississippi: Speaking of Mississippi, there may be ethical issues that could cripple Republican Roger Wicker's chances at the Senate. Apparently, Wicker and aerospace company Aurora Flight Sciences have a questionably cozy relationship. In 2006, Aurora was Wicker's top campaign contributor; and, then in 2007, Wicker secures a juicy little earmark for Aurora. The relationship is furthered by the fact that Wicker's former Chief of Staff works for the lobbying outfit that lobbies for, you guessed it, Aurora. With Trent Lott and Chip Pickering expected to bolt to K Street, and with Republican corruption stories again flowing like water, this story has the potential to blow up should Wicker get appointed to the Senate or run for the seat opened up by Lott's resignation. Stay tuned! (HT: Cotton Mouth)

Virginia: Even with Republican Jim Gilmore tanking in the polls, George Macaca Allen re-iterated that he is "definitely not interested" in joining the 2008 Senate race. (Of course not - Mark Warner would embarrass him.)

Kentucky: The Politico profiles Mitch McConnell's spending tug-of-war. On one side are the Bush administration and hard-line conservatives looking to slash domestic spending where ever possible; and, on the other side is McConnell's own desire to bring home piles of pork as he ramps up his re-election bid, pork that Robert Novak thinks may be necessary for McConnell's "political survival." Also in Kentucky news, Jim Bunning says he's going to run again in 2010. With Ben Chandler on deck for the Democrats, I hope so! Bunning barely squeaked by now-Lieutenant Governor Dan Mongiardo 51-49 in 2004 (even with George W. Bush beating John Kerry 60-40 in Kentucky), and Chandler may be the most popular Democrat in the state.

Nebraska: Meet Scott Kleeb.

Maine: Local media is charging that Susan Collins is "selling out Maine workers" when she voted for the free trade deal with Peru. Turn Maine Blue reminds us that Tom Allen opposed the deal. Just another reason to contribute to Tom Allen.